WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) and the New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NYCHCC) announced today that WellCare of New York was awarded the inaugural Anthony Chiarelli Employment Engagement Award in honor of its “successful practices [that] have provided compelling results on the value of diversity in corporate America.” [Read more…]

Effective today, regulation reforms from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate a new process for surveying the policies and procedures of nursing facilities across the U.S. [Read more…]

Kaiser Permanente researchers in Washington analyzed information from medical visits, keeping private the information that could help identify any of the 22,000 patients in the study. Published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, “Frequency of Cannabis Use among Primary Care Patients in Washington State” is among the first U.S. studies to evaluate the population-based prevalence of patient-reported cannabis use among primary care patients, particularly in a state where nonmedical use is legal. [Read more…]

CareSource and Baptist Health have reached an agreement to provide quality access to health care for consumers in Kentucky and southern Indiana through the Health Insurance Marketplace. [Read more…]

The Arkansas Department of Insurance announced today that ForeverCare, Inc. is certified and licensed as a PASSE (Provider-owned Arkansas Shared Saving Entity) to provide access to healthcare for Medicaid eligible residents of Arkansas. ForeverCare, along with three other provider-led health plans, will deliver access to healthcare through the PASSE model of care, which is unique to Arkansas and provides coordination of physical health, behavioral health and home and community services to vulnerable Arkansans who qualify for these services due to specific health conditions. Care coordination is increasingly important to Medicaid programs and has shown success in improving health outcomes of individuals while reducing costs. ForeverCare is comprised of six partner organizations that represent over 300 years of experience and success in delivering high quality healthcare to deserving Arkansans. [Read more…]

Sixty-five percent (65%) of respondents would be interested if their employer offered easy and affordable access to genetic testing for health purposes, and the results were private and only shared between the employee and their doctor. Twenty-six (26%) percent want genetic testing but only if it is free, and 9% would have no interest in an employer offer of access to genetic testing. Further, 52% of respondents are willing to pay up to $250 for genetic testing. [Read more…]

Receiving a Torch Award from the Better Business Bureau is an honor to selected businesses. Recently, Combined Insurance, a leading provider of individual supplemental accident, disability, health and life insurance products, and a Chubb company, received a 2017 Honorable Mention Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. [Read more…]

Yolanda Jimenez-Colón, who leads Latino Relations for Gateway Health’s Community Engagement & Growth Department, has been selected as one of 50 of the Most Influential Latinos in the Delaware Valley. Ms. Jimenez-Colón will be recognized for her commitment and contributions to the Delaware Valley’s Latino community at a ceremony to be held from 5:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Friday, November 17 at the National Museum of Jewish History, 101 S. Independence Mall East, Philadelphia. The awards ceremony begins at 7:00 p.m. [Read more…]

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) released the following statement on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Medicare Parts C and D proposed rule: [Read more…]

Tufts Health Plan today announced it is rated 5 out of 5 – the highest rating possible – by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) on its annual rating of private health insurance plans.* It is the only health plan in the nation to receive the 5 out of 5 rating for both its HMO and PPO products.* Only three other plans in the country, from a pool of nearly 500 -earned a rating of “5.” Its Massachusetts PPO is the only PPO plan in the country to receive a 5 out of 5 rating. [Read more…]

Using real care and cost data over an extended period of time that mimics real world experiences and shows optimization across health care markets. What if workers and dependents could right-fit their own benefits using the power of such analytics? It would revolutionize shopping for health coverage – especially for large companies with up to several thousand workers. [Read more…]

Pat Geraghty, CEO of Florida Blue, the leading health insurer in Florida, today announced that the company will donate $1 million to support relief and recovery efforts across the state in the wake of Hurricane Irma. [Read more…]

Tampa-based WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), a leading provider of Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans throughout the country, today announced that, after activating its emergency business continuity plan ahead of Hurricane Irma’s arrival in Florida, its Tampa-area facilities remain operational and the company is facing minimal interruption in business in serving its 4.4 million members. [Read more…]

A Trump administration agency proposal to cut Medicare drug payments to hospitals serving poor and rural Americans is counterproductive and would actually reduce access to care, a group of over 1,300 hospitals says in comments submitted today to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). [Read more…]

Hurricane Irma is expected to cause catastrophic destruction across Puerto Rico, Florida, and possibly other states, even as the Gulf Coast is working to recover from Hurricane Harvey. Many healthcare facilities and pharmacies are already unavailable for extended periods, and others soon will be. As the waters subside, patients in affected areas may be displaced, many care locations will be temporarily closed, and prescribing patterns could be disrupted due to evacuations, power outages, and massive flooding across the region. [Read more…]

For nearly two decades, New Life Agency has been committed to providing the best value and service in the Assisted Reproduction Insurance industry. Today, New Life Agency announces a powerful three-way partnership designed to deliver substantial savings on today’s expensive fertility medications. [Read more…]

While Middle American men and women share similar feelings of financial security, women are more likely to worry about their personal finances and with good reason: they are three times more likely to say they cannot afford to save for retirement, according to a new study from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual). [Read more…]

While a narrow majority of 1,033 physicians surveyed by Merritt Hawkins strongly (42%) or somewhat (14%) support a “single payer healthcare system” in the U.S., more than 90% of 1,208 persons responding to an internet survey by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons said they were opposed. [Read more…]

Hurricane Harvey has struck a significant blow to the Houston, Texas metro area, home to the sixth largest import terminal in the world, as well as all of the shipping lanes in the Gulf Coast area. Given the strong economic linkages between the gulf coast and the country as a whole, Harvey is a disaster that will impact the U.S. economy far beyond that of the gulf coast. [Read more…]

As Hurricane Irma heads toward Florida, residents are preparing for its impact. Anxiety is running high for many in the path of this very strong storm. [Read more…]

Unaffordable medical expenses are often the first consequence when a critical illness such as cancer or heart disease strikes, so FTLife has responded by launching the MediSave Medical Account. This helps customers prepare for the possibility that serious illness could strike a breadwinner, or other family member, at any time. [Read more…]

The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, “We are urging a medical doctor, a nurse or a manager at a nursing home, skilled nursing facility, a rehab center, a dialysis center or a company providing hospice services to call us anytime at 866-714-6466 if they can prove their employer is involved in significant Medicare overbilling. One of our top targets are healthcare companies that are gouging Medicare with unnecessary medical procedures, or medical treatments that never took place. Recently a small group of whistleblowers with this exact type of information received a $3.6-million-dollar reward.”

http://CorporateWhistleblower.Com

According to the Corporate Whistleblower Center, “We are convinced there probably a more than a few people in every state that could be millionaires based on their inside information about Medicare fraud and healthcare companies ripping off the federal government. If you possess this type of information please call us at 866-714-6466. Why sit on a winning lotto ticket without ever knowing what it could be worth?”

Rise People, a new digital HR and group health insurance platform, has announced that Brigitte Parent, formerly SVP of Group Benefits at Sun Life Financial Canada, has joined its advisory board.<--more-->

Parent, named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network, brings extensive strategic group and individual insurance experience to Rise.

Having joined Sun Life in 1995, Parent has extensive experience as a senior leader for both its Canadian and global businesses. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice-President of Group Benefits. Parent was also Senior Vice-President of Individual Insurance and Wealth for Canada where she was responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of insurance and wealth management products and solutions.

In 2015, Parent was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by The Women’s Executive Network, where she received the RBC Champions Award to recognize the difference she has made in helping advance women in the Canadian workplace.

KEPRO announced today that the Division of TennCare, the state of Tennessee’s Medicaid program, has awarded the contract for the management of its toll-free call center to support TennCare members to KEPRO.

KEPRO will manage the toll-free call center that allows TennCare’s members to file medical issues or appeals by phone. The call center currently receives an average of 2,500 calls per week.

The registered nurses of Berkshire Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, have filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against BMC citing management’s months long refusal to provide information necessary to negotiate over health insurance, which is a mandatory subject of bargaining under federal labor law. [Read more…]

Today, ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company and ISMIE Indemnity announced entry into Pennsylvania. The companies will offer occurrence and claims made medical liability coverage for individual health professionals, groups and health care facilities. [Read more…]